The Sword and the Shield
by Tsubasa Kya
Summary: Suikoden 3 rewrite. Hugo/Chris, Luc/Sarah. After a grave misunderstanding, the peace agreements come to a halt and war looms between the Zexan Confederacy and the Grassland clans. If they cannot ally, both nations may be lost when Harmonia comes to call.


**Title: The Sword and the Shield  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer__: I do not own Suikoden or anything in relation to its many prequels, sequels, and side-stories. Does anyone else wonder if Watari (Suikoden 3) and Kakashi (Naruto) are at all related? Hehehe…_

This is me, rewriting Suikoden 3… So basically forget everything you know about Suikoden 3. Loved the game, but I want Hugo/Chris! And Lulu alive! And Luc. I like him. Erm… maybe I'll even have a plot here somewhere… Sometimes I have one of those… or nine… It will—hopefully and with luck—remain mostly from Hugo's perspective.

I know I shouldn't start a new story (again) but I have a dozen persistent plot bunnies that won't go away and are ruining my concentration on my on-going stories. To ease the pressure, I'm pushing out a bit.

Due to disliking some things I'm calling the Karayan horses "subayai". I'm also making it so that Grasslanders speak different languages than Zexans as I feel it would add another level of misunderstandings.

Hugo is 13, Chris is 17 at the start of this fic. Poor Wyatt Lightfellow upset his wife a little bit in 454, causing Chris's birth to be delayed three years and a 3-year sabbatical on the couch. I may change other things if I feel like it. I will probably feel like it.

If you know of any Hugo/Chris stories, please recommend them! I can't find anything, though in my defense searching in the category is tough. If you're up to the task of writing one, please do (and send me a link)! I found an excellent reference website online, and have placed a link in my profile!

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Introduction

While there are still skirmishes between the Grasslands and the Zexan Confederacy, these started to subside greatly in 473 and talk of peace began to slowly form. Hugo—son of High Chief Lucia of the Karayan clan—was chosen to deliver a message to the Zexan council agreeing to terms under which the Zexan Confederacy and the Grassland clans would meet to discuss the details of a truce.

Chapter 1

**-473-**

Riding was meant to be a release for him, but at the moment it felt more of a chore than anything, and he hated how that felt.

Hugo had been chosen—as the son of Chief Lucia—to deliver a message to Vinay del Zexay, to their council. Turning his head as he rode fast and skillfully across the Amur Plains, he called back to his two Karayan companions.

"Hurry up! I thought you could keep up with me!" He grinned cockily at them despite the dour mood he was in. At only thirteen, Hugo was considered the best rider in their tribe, and these two particular Karayan warriors were chosen for their riding ability as much as their ability to fight and defend Hugo from the wild beasts on the plains as much as the Zexans who might try causing him trouble.

"You're too cocky, Hugo," Orman taunted him before speeding his horse to ride at a deliberate pace next to Hugo. The Karayan's dark tan skin glistened with sweat where visible, and the colorful Karayan wool wrap was damp on his chest. Orman's blond hair was practically plastered to his face, but in spite of his ragged appearance, the older man's green eyes were lit up feverishly with amusement.

Doman, Orman's twin brother, sighed and hurried to catch up. Over the roar of wind in Hugo's ears, he heard Doman chastise Orman for 'feeding the flames'.

Grinning widely, Hugo nudged his horse on ahead and regained the front, sparing only a second to send a challenging glance at Orman. _Feeding the flames_, he thought as he let out a laugh. This was hardly a challenge for Hugo; he was cocky, but he had the right to be. He wasn't called the best rider for no reason.

They rode across the plains on their Karayan horses for the better part of the morning. The creatures they caught on the Amur Plains and made friendly with were far sturdier and hardier than the horses used by the Zexan ironheads. Their tan hides were striped black and perched on their head was a black twisted horn with a sharpened end. They were fast and agile and smart, while the ungainly horses used by the ironheads never seemed to match up in comparison.

The Karayans had taken to calling the creatures _subayai_, because they were so fast and hard to catch. No two _subayai_ looked alike. Some had short legs, some had long legs. The stripes might be wide or thin or jagged, and some of them had horns more twisted or straight than others.

Catching a _subayai_ was the first life journey a Karayan would embark on. Hugo had done his, like all other Karayans, in his tenth summer. It was a journey he had to complete alone. He had to go out onto the Amur Plains and catch the _subayai_, if he could do that, the creature would accept him as his rider.

Among a herd of _subayai_, some were named for being notable amongst the others. There was a _teisoku_, usually the slowest of the group and most often the one to fall to hungry predators. And on the other end of the scale was the _fuusoku_, as fast as the wind and almost impossible to catch.

Hugo stole much of his bragging rights from the fact the fact that he was one of the few Karayans who had caught a _fuusoku_. The other Karayans joked that Hugo had _subayai_ blood in him, which was a high compliment to his abilities.

When Hugo started to slow down, the sun was high in the sky and beating down on the plains without mercy. Hugo slid off Tzafrira and rubbed his fingers through the creature's mane, wiping off slick sweat. He looked up as the twins finally caught up and grinned with self assurance. "And you said you could keep up."

Orman laughed in good nature, sliding from the bare back of the animal he rode. "I blame it on you, Hugo. You and your _subayai_ blood!" Walking over to Hugo, he slapped him on the back with a large hand, laughing still. Hugo practically toppled over from the force, but he bore it well and laughed with the older man, his cheeks turning even darker than they were.

Doman chuckled as he too slipped down from his _subayai_, leaving the creature to approach the stream Hugo had brought them to. Tzafrira nudged Hugo affectionately and approached the stream where the other two were. "It's a wonder Chief Lucia ever managed to keep you, Hugo." Doman teased.

Orman agreed, "You were always chasing off to the plains like you had wings on your feet. Then when you found that griffin, I swear the Chief was on her wit's end. A trouble you are!" He laughed, showing he meant no harm with his words and clapped Hugo on the back again. That time, Hugo did end up sprawled on the grass.

Grinning ruefully, Hugo climbed to his feet and brushed himself off. "Fubar's no harm," he said, glancing up at the sky. The creature they spoke of was circling high above.

Almost as if feeling Hugo's eyes on him, Fubar let out a loud, "**Kweee!**"

Doman nodded and slid his travel pack from his back, sitting down on the ground to relax in the midday sun. "Fubar's a great warrior," he said. "Not to mention he keeps most of the vicious creatures from entering the village."

Fubar was the other creature Hugo made friendly with. When he was in his fourth summer, Hugo had found Fubar in a nest obscured by a recently killed griffin's body when he and his mother had gone on a journey through the Valley of the Griffins to see another of the Karayan villages and the people who lived there. The poacher—certainly not of Karayan descent—had cut off the griffin's head and left the rest of the body to rot.

Thinking back, Hugo supposed the poacher had taken the other hatchlings because griffins usually had two or three at a time. Taking Fubar in, Hugo nursed the griffin back to health with the help of his mother and aunt Luce. However, when Fubar had grown bigger, Chief Lucia began to worry about Fubar being a danger to the tribe and sold Fubar to a merchant passing by.

Hugo hadn't liked that and when he found out what his mother did he took off after the merchant and freed Fubar from the cage. He tried to tell Fubar to go, to leave and not return to the village, but Fubar caught his leg in a bear trap and Hugo couldn't leave him there like that. While trying to free Fubar from the trap, they were attacked by wolves.

After that, Hugo had no memory of what happened; he'd passed out from the pain of a wolf bite he received trying to keep the wolves from Fubar. All he knew was what people told him: Fubar had brought him back to the village, carried on his back, in spite of the bear trap on his leg. After that, the worries had—mostly—ceased and Fubar was recognized as a Karayan warrior.

That wasn't to say that Fubar wasn't tame in the least. He was played nice enough but he wasn't afraid to let others know to back off by screeching or snapping his beak in warning. Hugo was the only one who could ride Fubar, since no one else would dare, and he loved the feel of flying just as much as he did riding.

Some mornings, Hugo would be torn at which one he wanted to do. His mother usually had a day of chores for him, so except on rare occasions, he had to pick one or the other, and get up before dawn if he wanted to make it to Duck Lake before turning around, and if he flew on Fubar, he usually made it there with time to visit Sergeant Joe, an old friend of Chief Lucia, but someone who Hugo also looked up to.

Hugo looked at Orman; the man was lying on the ground with his eyes closed and his arms behind his head in a casual pose. "Sleeping already, old man?" he laughed.

"I could kick your ass in a heartbeat, Hugo," Orman said, opening one eye to peer at him. "So I must not be that old."

"What're you talking about?" Hugo jabbed his thumb at himself, "You couldn't beat me if my hands were tied up to my feet!"

"Want to try that?" Doman jibbed, and Hugo blushed at the boast before shaking his head. He had a problem with letting his mouth run before his head could process what he was saying. Unfortunately, every other Karayan _didn't_ have a problem putting Hugo back in his place.

Fubar landed with a gust of wind in their direction as he flapped his wings to keep balance until he had all feet on the ground. The _subayai_ weren't bothered by Fubar's presence, knowing the griffin wouldn't eat them. Hugo never knew why, but griffins never ate the _subayai_. If Hugo guessed, he would expect it was because griffins—or at least Fubar—went after small creatures.

Sitting on the ground with the other two, Hugo prepared to wait out the high sun before they would continue. At the rate he was pushing, he expected to get to Brass Castle well before nightfall. It excited him. He'd never been in an ironhead village before especially due to the turmoil between the Grasslands and the ironheads.

The last few years, the fighting had nearly ceased entirely though and Chief Lucia wanted to extend a truce to the Zexans and end the fighting for future generations. That was exactly what Hugo was being sent off to do: deliver a message to the Zexan chiefs signifying the terms the ironheads required for meeting for the treaty were accepted.

Hugo didn't think that he should be the one going, thinking his mother should be since she was the Chief, but Lucia had assured him that the Zexans would be offended if she went. It didn't make any sense to Hugo, but he trusted his mother and promised to deliver the message.

At first, Hugo's younger cousin Lulu had begged to come along, but since Zexan soldiers had been seen two days prior on the Amur Plains too close to the village for comfort, Luce had refused to allow it and Jimba, Lulu's older brother, had agreed with her saying the message needed to be delivered quickly and Lulu had yet to start out on his first life journey. Lulu tried to appeal to Luce, make her change her mind, but she just twisted his ear a bit and told him to go wash for breakfast silencing all arguments.

Sensing eyes on himself, Hugo looked around and saw his companions snoozing lightly. They would wake at the first sign of duress—they were Karayan warriors after all—but neither of the twins were what caused his odd feeling. Looking at Fubar, the griffin wasn't watching him in particular but rather was keeping a sharp eye on their surroundings. Knowing Fubar was keeping watch never failed to make Hugo feel more at ease, but he could still sense eyes on himself so he got to his feet and looked closer at their surroundings.

The grass on the plains was lush and green, but not terribly high so it was easy to see nothing was hiding. In the distance he could see the tall trees of the Zexan Forest, and within them was the sky breaking Brass Castle, but that was too far away for anyone to see him.

Thinking it might be a hungry creature coming to make lunch of his traveling band, he turned to look at the _subayai_. They were quite relaxed, grazing comfortably, and while that was relieving on its own, he couldn't shake the feeling he had of being watched.

Scratching his head, he shook it all off as nerves and walked over to the gurgling stream, wetting his head and neck. Then again, he thought, maybe it wasn't just him. He wondered if he was feeling the call of the spirits and it was their unease that he was sensing. Aila would have been able to tell him better since she was so in tune to the spirits, but she wasn't around.

"Not to mention she'd probably nag at me again," he muttered under his breath. That woman was always finding a reason to harp at him. She'd yell about his morning rides. She'd complain about how he ate. She'd scream at him for going to sleep immediately following dinner (ignoring how he got up extra early to make up for it). Then, to add injury to insult, she'd pinch his cheek and call him a stupid child in spite of the fact that he'd already taken his second life journey and become a man.

Getting to his feet, Hugo stepped over to Fubar even as he whistled to his companions. "We can keep going now," he told the two men. "I'm going to ride Fubar. Tzafrira will keep pace with you guys."

Both of them sent exasperated looks at him and he just beamed. "Hugo, we _really_ won't keep up with you if you do that." Doman complained.

Hugo bounced on his heels, a low laugh emitting from his voice. "With my _subayai_ blood, you couldn't keep up even if I ran alongside!" He ran his fingers gently through Fubar's feathers, shaking lose a few. "Boy you need to clean up." He told the griffin, receiving a low 'kwee' in response.

Mounting the griffin, he whistled for Tzafrira, letting her know to come after him. The twins hastily shouldered their packs—Hugo never took his off—and hurried to their _subayai_ to follow him.

Fubar shrieked to let Hugo know he was going to take off, and Hugo held onto the griffin mostly with his knees, laying low against Fubar's neck and pressing his hands against Fubar's neck carefully. All at once, Hugo felt his stomach sink and his heart pound faster than usual as the wind suddenly started to whistle in his ears, and then they were off the ground and flying through the air.

Hugo sat up, grinning wide enough his cheeks began to burn. He had to keep his green eyes narrow to shield them from the wind, but he hung on with his knees and lifted his arms over his head, laughing and taking short breaths to stem the wind flow.

Turning his head, he craned to look down and saw Tzafrira streaking after him like a swift morning wind, and the twins speeding after. He loved the feeling of freedom he possessed with the wind sweeping through his two-tone hair and whipping at his clothes, threatening to yank off his Karayan necklace.

His trip felt too short before it was over and he had to direct Fubar to land before they reached Brass Castle. That was another thing his mother had been very strict with him about. She couldn't stop Fubar from following, but she said the Zexans would attack if they saw him flying on Fubar.

Hugo initially planned on waiting for the others and Tzafrira, but soon he grew bored. He knew which way to go to get to the castle, so with Fubar at his side he began to walk—slowly, at first, but after a while he couldn't stand it and he started to grin widely and run through the trees. Fubar kept up easily, despite the awkward four-legged gait.

He wasn't quite paying attention to the noise of the forest so he wasn't fully aware of what he would encounter when he burst out of the underbrush, rolling on the ground and laughing. Instantly he knew he'd made a mistake and the laugh caught in his throat as a Zexan horse bucked up, leaving the rider with no other option but to fall with an iron clank to the ground.

Seeing the fallen ironhead and the startled horse, Hugo scrabbled back away from those iron shod hooves. Hugo looked at the fallen ironhead as his companions got down from their horses and helped him to his feet. None of the ironheads looked happy; one with muddy blond hair glared death toward Hugo as the fallen ironhead bit a mud-caked lip and stood.

One strange ironhead with pointed ears—Hugo was _sure_ ironheads didn't usually have pointed ears—managed to calm the horse down quickly, and when the horse wasn't flailing its legs anymore, the blonde stamped toward Hugo opening his mouth to shout.

Holding his open hand out to the blond, Hugo insisted, "Stop!" but forgot to speak the Zexan tongue and had to adjust languages. "Wait!" he pleaded, but it was too late. The blond had come too close, and Fubar came from the underbrush where he had paused momentarily, rearing and clawing at the blond, but not hitting him—thankfully.

"Fubar, no! Stop it Fubar," Hugo said, returning to the native language Fubar grew up knowing and getting to his feet. Unfortunately, Fubar's appearance had unsettled the Zexan horses and the griffin was too close for comfort to the fallen ironhead's horse. While the others further away pranced and whinnied their complaints, the fallen ironhead's horse reared up again with wide, frightened eyes, knocking down the pointy eared ironhead before streaking off into the forest.

Fubar came back down on all fours but squawked noisily to let the ironheads know their place.

Hugo tried to fix the damage Fubar had done with his over-protectiveness. "I am apology," he said, holding his open hands out to the ironheads, to let them see he had no weapon in his hands. It grated on his nerves to have to act this way, but his mother made him promise not to screw up the tentative peace agreements. As his mother said, any Zexan he offended could bring war back to the tribes.

One of the ironheads still mounted on his horse glared down at Hugo. His deep voice rumbled like the groaning earth as he spoke stiffly, "You should watch what you're doing, barbarian!"

Biting his lip to hold in a retort at the barbarian comment, Hugo said again, "I am apology! I get horse!"

Thinking it would help him if he caught the horse for them, Hugo whistled a command at Fubar and the griffin took flight while Hugo raced off in the direction the horse had gone. He heard the ironheads causing a raucous behind him, but after a moment he was too far away to hear anything of them.

Tracking down the skittish horse was a simple task. The horse left heavy horse shoe marks in the dirt every step of the way. Keeping up with it in the thick forest was easier by far than catching a _fuusoku_ on the Amur Plains. The problem was in the iron clothes and the polished wood seat on the horse. He didn't think he could trust a horse he could not feel beneath him, so he wasn't sure he wanted to swing himself on the animal's back, not to mention the back of the seat looked like it would be hard to swing his leg over. He had to hand it to those ironheads to be able to manage.

Eventually the horse slowed down, and then finally it came to a walk approaching a bubbling brook where Hugo found it had calmed considerably. Hugo slid out from behind a tree and made eye contact with the animal, staring at it. Sliding forward, he was careful not to let the animal know he was a predator.

When he was close enough, he reached a hand out to the horse slowly, palm open and up. For his effort, the horse sniffed his hand and then looked at him still warily. He kept moving, and rubbed two fingers between the horse's eyes.

_Spirits, is this creature dumb_, Hugo thought. If it were a _subayai_, it would have bolted a long time ago and not stopped until he had caught it. As he grabbed the leather straps attached to it—the reins, if Hugo remembered Jimba's teachings correctly—he ran a soothing hand along the horse's head, letting it know he was friendly. It was certainly different than a _subayai_. Hugo had chased Tzafrira for two days around the Amur Plains before Tzafrira started to slow, and then had to swing himself on Tzafrira's back and hold on until the _subayai_ finally stopped running and started walking, the sign that he had caught her.

With the horse relaxed finally, Hugo made his way back toward where he'd left the ironheads, but they were gone. Irritation flooded him. After all that, they didn't even wait. "Now what do I do with you?" he asked the horse, and received a slobbered shoulder in response. Obviously they didn't think he could catch the horse, since they just left.

Hugo snorted heavily. Zexans couldn't even keep a handle of their animals. It was a wonder how the ironheads survived as long as they had.

Figuring his companions were probably already waiting for him by Brass Castle, Hugo followed the Zexan road. Orman and Doman were indeed at the Zexan village gates waiting for him. When he saw Orman's smug expression, he scratched the back of his neck. "Did you sweat out the _subayai_?" Orman joked.

Doman looked warily at the Zexan horse. "Hugo, what did you do?"

Hugo slouched his shoulders. "Fubar spooked the horse, so I said I'd catch it but when I got back, the ironheads were gone. What should I do with it?"

Orman shrugged. "Let it go. Let the ironheads deal with finding their own horse."

Doman groaned. "Hugo, can't you stay out of trouble?"

"It wasn't my fault!" Hugo insisted. Both of them raised identical eyebrows at him and he flushed slightly. "Er, I mean, maybe it was a little, but still! I went and got it, didn't I? Is it my fault they ran off?"

Doman and Orman both shook their heads and Doman suggested, "Tie it to that tree over there, and leave it. We'll just hope that whatever it is you did won't cause us trouble further down the road."

As Hugo went to do as he was told and tied the horse to the tree, Orman's brows knit together. "And from now on, you stick close to us. No more running ahead, Hugo, I mean it. We're in enemy territory, and ironheads never need an excuse to slaughter our people."

Hugo returned to them and rubbed a hand along Tzafrira's neck. "They probably say the same about us," he muttered darkly, embarrassed and irritated about being told to stay near.

"You're young, Hugo," Doman said. "You have not fought the ironheads like we have. They cannot be trusted with your back. This journey we are on will not bring an end to the fighting. Before long, they will attack us again, and we must be wary for that day and keep our weapons sharp until then."

"Then why go through this?" Hugo demanded. "If they have no honor to keep the peace, then why do we bother?"

"Chief Lucia believes the time for war is at an end, and we Karayans will support her decision even if we agree the ironheads have no sense of honor like we do. When they come, we will be ready with sharper knives and stronger warriors, as we always are." Doman whistled to his _subayai_ and turned, proceeding down the stone bridge toward the massive stone structure.

Orman clapped Hugo on the back. "Come, Hugo. If we are not swift, we will be stuck in there till dawn." Orman shuddered slightly, "Zexan villages are terrible to be in."

Looking back at the horse, Hugo wondered if he ought to take it in with him and locate the ironheads, but decided against it. Besides, if he was seen with a Zexan horse, the ironheads might take it wrong. Even though other people were coming and going through the gates without a problem, Hugo's party was stalled as the two men with pikes moved to stand in their way.

"Halt! What is your business in Brass Castle?" the one on the left asked.

Orman and Doman looked to Hugo for an explanation. Neither of them spoke the language, which was another reason Hugo was chosen aside from being the son of the chief. He was able to understand the language better than most Karayans, although that wasn't really saying much. Jimba was fully fluent, so would have made a better choice to deliver the message.

Stepping past Doman, Hugo said, "I am Hugo of Karaya. I go to speak to Zexan chiefs." That wasn't so bad, he supposed. The feeling of being watched once more raised the hairs on the back of Hugo's neck and he had to resist the urge to turn around and search for the source. He probably was being watched this time, he supposed. There were ironheads all over and not one of them failed to look at him.

"What business do you have with the council?" the same guard asked.

That was an easy question, Hugo thought. "I speak of war with Zexan chiefs!"

As the hostilities suddenly rose in the two guards, and the wind spirits whispered of danger, Hugo wondered if he might have said the wrong thing. That was made apparent enough when the bridge was suddenly swarming with ironheads and Hugo and his companions were detained.

In the dungeon cell he was thrown into, Hugo moaned and rubbed his head. He'd successfully managed to hit it on the floor, on top of screwing up. He had no clue where Orman and Doman were taken to. "Wait!" he called out, getting to his feet and rushing to the door as it was locked and the ironhead walked off, completely ignoring his pleas.

They had been quite efficient, stripping him of practically everything. His travel pack, his necklace, his weapons, even the wrist and ankle bangles he received barely a month prior for passing his journey to become a man (although he felt the journey was a bit useless—he'd spent longer than a week out on the Amur Plains before and had no problems). Hell, they even took the band he wore to identify which Karayan village he came from! So, there he was, no colorful wool cover to keep the chill away, no sandals to protect his feet, nothing…

Rattling the iron door uselessly, he called out, "Hey! I didn't do anything wrong!" At least they let him keep his loincloth.

"It's useless, you know." Hugo spun around and blinked at his apparent cellmate. It was too dark for him to see him, but Hugo knew the other was male from his voice. What was more, they spoke the language of the Grasslands.

"But I didn't do anything wrong! I don't know why I've been captured."

"I do." The man said, shrouded in shadow even after Hugo's eyes adjusted to the lack of light.

"What? Why?" Hugo asked.

"You're Karayan, aren't you? That's why."

Hugo clenched his fists. Orman and Doman had been right. The ironheads never needed a reason to attack his people. His mother was a fool to think they'd manage at peace. Not when their people were persecuted for delivering messages.

Growling in irritation, he kicked the iron bars before swearing violently and hopping about on one foot, massaging the new sore. "Spirits that hurt!" he complained. His cell mate chuckled and Hugo glared in the other's general direction. Resigned to pouting, Hugo asked, "What are you here for? Are you Karayan too? How long have you been here?"

Another loose chuckle hit Hugo's ears. "Why am I here… I'm not Karayan… No, I am here… because I knew I would be."

Hugo ran a hand through his hair, brushing the black-tipped blond strands from his face. "That doesn't make any sense. Have you been here long enough to lose your wits? Orman said if you stay too long in a Zexan village, you will."

"Hmm… Perhaps…" the stranger murmured.

Hugo quickly felt himself growing restless in the cell. Never in his life had he been so thoroughly trapped, and the inability to move made him nervous. He could only barely feel the spirits as they dragged him down, but now he couldn't feel them at all. It was as though he stood in a grave, with nothing but death anywhere near. Perhaps he did. He didn't know what Zexans did after putting his people in a cage.

He groaned. He had to get out, find Orman and Doman, and when he did he was going to go home to Karaya and tell his mother off. She was so stupid to think this would work. The Zexans didn't want peace! They were blood-thirsty. They had to know this sort of thing wouldn't sit well with the clans! Hugo had never really been one to brag about being the son of Chief Lucia, the highest chief of all the Karaya villages, but when he thought about _his mother_, he knew exactly what weight this sort of situation held.

Lucia was very protective of Hugo—what mother wasn't of their son?—but unlike most mothers, Lucia could raise hell over Hugo, and the Lizard and Duck clans would follow Lucia without hesitation. Hugo's mother was expecting him to arrive at Vinay del Zexay three days after departing the village (he expected he would arrive in half that amount of time). He was expected to deliver the message agreeing to meet on the Amur Plains to discuss peace agreements, and his mother gave him a week after that to look around if he wanted to before heading back (but only if he behaved). In total, he had about two weeks to be away from the village.

If he wasn't back in two weeks, his mother would not only start to worry, but she would start to prepare for war. Those were his mother's words, right from her mouth. Hugo sat heavily on the floor where he was, tugging his lower lip in his mouth and chewing on it in thought.

For all his thinking, Hugo came up blank on how to get out. He didn't have a rune, and even if he did they would have taken it from him. The door was securely locked, the bars were too close together to slip through, and the stone walls were undoubtedly very secure. Even if he did get out, what would he do to get Orman and Doman out? And if they managed to escape the castle, what then? As much as it hurt to think about (which he really didn't want to do) their _subayai_ were undoubtedly slain for attacking the Zexans in defense of their riders.

When something landed on him, he jumped and spun to his feet in a crouched guard position, his hands going to where his weapons would ordinarily be but clasping on nothing. The other man had come closer while he was lost in his thoughts. On the floor was a dark lump Hugo saw to be a jacket.

"You were shivering." The other man explained.

With the man closer to the torch light from outside the cell, Hugo found himself faced with the effeminate features of one Hugo knew was no clansman. If it weren't for the other's voice, Hugo would have been sure that he was facing a girl. The man's brown hair and pale skin was dirty from what Hugo supposed was a prolonged stay in the Zexan dungeons, and his clothes—definitely not anything worn by the clans—were rumpled and torn.

"I was not!" Hugo denied instantly, noting the man's eyes were an even deeper green than his own, and in the light flickering from the torch, they even appeared to glow.

He received a slight look of confusion before the man masked it under a blank expression. "You were too." He said. He left the coat by Hugo and then approached the darkened corner again, hiding himself away. "Wear the coat."

As the order drifted back to Hugo, he sighed and picked up the coat. Thick and made of a sturdy material Hugo couldn't name, it did indeed look like it would be warm. He put his arms in the small holes and approached the man in the corner, sitting next to the other despite sensing the glare he received for it. "Thanks," he told the man, hugging the fabric that draped over his bent up knees. His backside was cold against the stone.

With a sigh, the man grudgingly said, "You're welcome."

He wasn't sure how long he'd slept, or when he fell asleep in the first place, but at a nudge from the man he awoke instantly and found he was dreadfully cold. He shivered and looked around; same dungeon as before, but this time the man was getting up.

"Come. We're leaving." The man told him, and Hugo was instantly on his feet. He had no idea who the man was, but if he had come up with a plan to get out, Hugo was willing to follow, at least until they got out of the cell. He still had to find Orman and Doman, and all his belongings.

Hugo watched the man take off his left glove, revealing a wide metal band on his middle finger. "What are you going to do?" Hugo asked, and the man said nothing, but a ball of bright light grew in front of where his hand was splayed in the air. Hugo backed away a few steps nervously, seeing the dangerous energy there. He had to shield his eyes after a moment, when the brightness grew to be too much for him, and then as he peeked through his fingers he saw a beam of the light shoot at the lock of the door. With a loud noise, the door flew open from the pressure of the beam.

"Come," the man repeated, walking swiftly past the door.

"I have to find Orman and Doman. Will you help me?" Hugo asked. It would be awfully convenient of the man would, Hugo thought, considering the obviously powerful weapon the man carried. He wondered what it was, but shook his head. Now was not the time to be pondering it and he hastily exited the cell. In the distance, he could hear the shouting of guards who probably heard the commotion, and were on their way to check on it.

The man gave Hugo a cold look. "There is no time. You will have to leave them."

Raising his chin in both determination and defiance, Hugo slipped off the man's cloak and shoved it into his arms. "I _won't_ sacrifice my fellow Karayans just so I can run like a coward! Thanks for getting the door open, but if you won't help me, then this is where we separate!"

Hugo didn't wait for a response, but instead turned heel and ran the opposite way from where he heard the guards coming from. _Ha!_ Hugo thought. _As if they can catch me!_ His excitement grew in leaps and bounds as he skid around a corner and kept running. "Orman! Doman!" he called out, trying to locate them. He wasn't sure what he'd do when he _found_ them, but he hoped to have a bright idea when he got that far.

Passing cell after cell, people reached out to him, begging to be freed. He couldn't recognize any as Grasslanders, but he still felt a bit bitter about having to leave them. He wondered if any of them were there for a reason, or if they were like him and they were taken for no reason.

After running through stone corridor after stone corridor, Hugo managed to get himself lost but hadn't managed to lose his ironhead pursuers. Having to duck from grabbing hands on both sides at times, and slide around corners barefoot, his feet were raw and he knew he wasn't going as fast as he could. A chorus of, "Please, take us with you," followed his every step, giving his pursuers even more hint as to where to go after him.

He managed to find Orman after what felt like an eternity and rattled the door of his cell as Orman hastily approached him. He could see the other Karayan was as stripped of his things as he was. "Hugo, how did you get out?" Orman asked. "Wait, never mind that! Hugo, go. Leave us and escape!"

"Spirits, everyone's telling me that!" Hugo growled. "No! I won't leave you guys here. Where's Doman?" Rattling the door, he found himself growing angry. The door wasn't going to budge an inch, and he could hear the clanking of iron on the stone floor coming closer.

"They took him off somewhere."

"Why? Where?" Hugo demanded.

"How should I know? The ironheads weren't exactly forthcoming when I asked."

Seeing a torch on wall, he tried to reach it to use it to hammer at the door, but he didn't manage it. He was grabbed by a burly guard and slapped with an iron hand. The blow caused him to fall into the wall, and hit his head viciously. "Ahh!" he groaned, seeing blurry doubles.

"Dirty barbarian!" the guard shouted.

"Hugo!" Orman called to him, but Hugo knew it was fruitless. Now that he'd been caught, he'd be thrown into a new cell, and his chances for escape were significantly less.

"Stupid ironhead!" Hugo growled as he tried to regain his balance. His arm was gripped tight enough for it to hurt and dragged down the cold corridor. "Let go! I didn't do anything wrong!" Hugo shouted, but continuously forgot to speak the language that would be understood due to a slightly panicked state of mind.

After a few paces of being forcefully dragged, Hugo's blurry vision registered a light unrelated to the torches and the man froze. Before he could even call out a word, the light turned into a beam and Hugo was dragged to the floor as the man crumpled. Hugo pulled himself free and rubbed his eyes as the man who helped him a second time approached. Looking up, Hugo saw a pale hand being offered down to him.

"You came back," Hugo said, surprised. He took the offered hand and used it to steady himself upright. When he managed to gather his bearings, he released the man's arm and ran a hand through his hair, pushing it from his eyes again.

"Don't ask me why," the man frowned.

"Why?" Hugo asked anyway as the man approached Orman's cell door.

"I thought I said _don't_. That usually implies not doing something," the man said without emotion. Then he said, "Step back from the door."

"Why can't I ask?" Hugo asked the man.

"I have no answer." Orman backed away from the door and the strange man formed his energy beam again. The door opened, and around them, people were begging to be released. He turned to Hugo frowning and asked, "Where is the other?"

"We'll find him," Hugo promised.

Orman instantly said, "They took him that way," pointing further down the corridor.

Hugo looked down at the guard; he was bleeding sluggishly on the floor. "Will he be okay?" he wondered aloud.

"No. He is dead." The man said bluntly, and Hugo felt himself turn green. "This is no time to worry over your enemy. If they cannot contain you, they will kill you. It is not a game. Choose between your life, or theirs."

Hugo felt tears sting his eyes, but hurried down the corridor ahead of the others so they would not see it. Whatever happened to the peace talks? One thing he knew for certain was that he wasn't going to Vinay del Zexay.

When they came to the end of the corridor, they turned right at the strange man's insistence though Hugo wanted to go left. Surprisingly enough, it was in that corridor that they found Doman's cell.

"Step back," the man said immediately upon confirmation that Doman was who they were looking for. After breaking the door, the three Karayans followed the strange man as he wove through the corridors. The man stopped by a door made of wood and entered swiftly by breaking the door's lock similarly to how he did the cell doors. Inside, they encountered startled guards who had been unaware of what was going on.

The three Karayans were startled and unprepared, but Doman shifted himself in front of Hugo as Orman made ready to attack. The strange man grabbed Orman's arm, however. "Wait," he said, "behind me."

The guards were all hastily getting to their feet, drawing their swords. Holding his arm up, they saw the sigil of a wind rune appear before the man and a sudden burst of wind knocked the guards into the walls hard enough that they didn't get back up.

"See if your clothes are here," the man said, heading to the stairs and peering up them. Hugo stared at the bodies, wondering if beneath that armor, the men would be dead. His discomfort and unease caused him to freeze to the spot, staring at the bodies for a minute before he shook himself and hurried to search the room.

They found their belongings and hurried to put their clothes on. Hugo tried to keep his eyes off the guards, and his mind from wondering whether they were dead, but both tasks were impossible. Fixing his belt to hold the wool cover in place, he saw a water rune detaching itself from one of the guards. He didn't want to think on the implications of that so he forced himself to pay more attention to the process of fixing his weapons to his back and left leg. He dug around in the pile of prisoner's personal belongings in the adjoining closet, finding his necklace and putting it on, then accepted his clan marking band from Doman who had found it for him.

Their bags were shoved on a shelf; pulling them down, they each checked to be sure their things were intact. It only took them a short period of time to get themselves ready, but it felt like an eternity. Hugo was surprised the man had waited for them. Meeting the other's green eyes, he nodded. They were ready.

"Then let's go," the man said. "After this, every soldier you see will attack you. Be ready." His words, though spoken to them all, felt more like they were meant for Hugo. Hugo tightened the straps on his bag and nodded. He felt Orman and Doman squeeze his shoulders but brushed them off and proceeded toward the steps. Silently they ascended the stairs and the man looked out the barred window before opening the door.

Two soldiers who saw them exiting the stairs called out their escape and unsheathed their swords, darting toward them. Orman and Doman attacked the two, causing blood to wash the walls of the castle. More came at the call, and the strange man attacked with his rune power, crushing the men between two walls of wind.

Hugo stood frozen, watching them fight as ironheads came to meet their doom. _Why… can't I move…?_ Hugo wondered, but no answer came.

Finally a path was cleared. The strange man grabbed Hugo by the wrist as though knowing Hugo had frozen. "Don't think!" he told him. "Think, and you die!" He ran, pulling Hugo as Orman and Doman followed after. They burst out onto a sleepy pre-dawn courtyard and kept running. Hugo felt eyes on him for a third time and looked at the strange man. He kept looking at Hugo out of the corner of his eye, and finally Hugo noticed the other hardly looked older than sixteen.

_How_, he wondered, _does this not bother him? He has killed men, yet he isn't bothered!_ This fact caused great discomfort in Hugo and he looked away from the man, turning his eyes on where he was going. Rushing through an archway onto the main stretch, they met with soldiers who were surprised at their appearance but who immediately unsheathed their weapons and attacked them.

"Hugo, don't hesitate!" Orman called, "Get out your weapon, _now_!"

The feel of his weapon's hilt had never felt more wrong in his hand, but he slid the blade from its sheath and grabbed the hilt of his smaller knife from his left leg, pulling that out as well. _I have to do this…_ he thought, _Spirits, forgive me if I hurt them…_

It was an absolute mess. Hugo wasn't sure how many there were. There were certainly more than enough to go around, but he found himself with two rushing at him swords raised to cut him down. He ducked under one sword and rolled out of the way of the second, quickly springing to his feet and facing his adversaries with a scowl.

Slipping past one of the ironheads, he slashed at the second with his larger blade. The clang of metal on metal resounded in his ears as for the first time outside of friendly sparring, his blade met another's. Spinning his head back momentarily, he saw the other ironhead coming up behind him and threw himself to the side, allowing the two ironheads to tumble into each other. One ironhead had impaled the other, leaving Hugo with only one to face.

He kicked himself to his feet and caught a downward sweeping sword between the cross of his two blades. The man was strong and started to push Hugo back, so he threw his whole body into shoving the blade left and then cut out with his right hand. Blood sprayed on him as he sliced through the man's cheek and lower lip. The soldier didn't stop coming at him, but Hugo was terrified by what he'd done and froze for a second.

The soldier raised his sword above his head, ready to bring it down on Hugo in swift instant death, but Hugo darted forward and stabbed his smaller blade into the man's stomach, falling onto the man as he fell backward and lay unmoving.

Again on his feet, Hugo turned and ran toward the gate again telling himself not to think; his companions were already pressing ahead, leaving bloodied ironheads on the ground behind. The ironheads were calling for reinforcements, and those reinforcements were rushing out of the castle behind them.

"Close the gates!" one ironhead shouted. "Don't let them escape!"

"Hugo! Hurry!" Doman called.

Orman's face suddenly contorted with pain as an arrow hit him in the chest. His knees buckled. Hugo felt a scream tear out of his throat as he watched the older man fall and ran to his side sheathing his weapons as he moved, arriving beside him in time to catch him. "Orman! Orman, hey! Are you okay?"

Hugo felt the rising gale around them and turned his eyes away from the silent man to find the source. The stranger helping them escape was using his wind rune to send the Zexans to their backsides. Without even pausing, the man hurried over and said, "We have taken too long. They're closing the gate."

The man got on the other side of Orman, and between Hugo and the stranger, they hurried to the gate, with Doman following when he saw the impenetrable wall of wind was keeping the Zexans from coming closer behind them. Arrows rained down at them from the top of the castle walls, but when the man used his wind rune, a gust of wind knocked the archers off the wall. Screams tore through the air, and Hugo winced and bit his lip as he heard the crunch of bones.

Doman rushed ahead and attacked the men who were closing the gates, his blade slicing through one man's neck and across another's unprotected face.

They carried Orman across the bridge, with the few straggling citizens running from their approach. When they reached the horse still tied up at the end of the bridge, Doman quickly sliced off the seat and threw it to the ground before mounting the animal's bare back. Hugo was truly surprised the animal was still there, but grateful nonetheless.

"Get Orman back to the village," Hugo told the twin. "I'll call for Fubar and fly after." He and the man helped Doman raise Orman up. For only a second, Doman gave Hugo a very strange look before he nodded and then took off into the forest. Wasting no time, Hugo slipped two fingers into his mouth and let out an ear-piercing whistle.

"You should be running," the man commented from beside Hugo.

Hugo glanced at the man, slipping behind a tree and poking his head out to watch the gate and stay out of sight of the archers now taking their places on the wall. "So should you." He pointed out. Soldiers on horses were charging through the gate and toward them.

The man remained next to him behind a tree. "We are both fools then," he said. "We will die if we stay."

Hugo smiled smugly as he heard a loud, "**KWEEE!**" sound over the noise of horse hooves coming closer.

Hugo slipped out of the trees long enough to be spotted by both Fubar above and the soldiers on the ground. He noticed the blond from the forest immediately, despite the lack of mud. "Ironheads!" he bellowed out, making a face at them before whistling again for Fubar. He slipped once more into the forest, snatching the man's hand and dragging him behind until the man realized it was time to go.

"We just have to get them to follow us a bit to give Doman and Orman a chance!" Hugo insisted.

They heard the crashing of soldiers through the trees behind them. Heart racing, Hugo told himself to do nothing but run. He didn't have time to think with the enemy closing in on him. He'd never been so scared in his life. He knew if he made it home, the only thing he would want to do would be to curl up in his mother's protective embrace and weep. He had killed; how could he have done that? To take a life?

Shaking off the thoughts, he ran through the trees grateful he didn't have to drag the man anymore. The other was surprisingly fast—almost as fast as Hugo was. Fubar was waiting for them when they burst from the cover of the trees and Hugo heard the man swear violently and skid to a stop. "Goes from worse to worst," the man muttered, looking at Fubar as he raised his hand, wind rune sigil taking form.

"No!" Hugo said, smacking the hand down and dragging the man toward Fubar. "He's safe, here for us!" As they came near, Fubar's eyes looked warily at the man. "We need to get back, Fubar," he told the griffin. "He's going to have to ride with."

"That is yours?" the man asked in surprise.

Hugo mounted the griffin and said, "Quick, get on behind me."

The man looked back at the sounds of their pursuers crashing through the forest and approached the griffin as though determining a lesser evil. He was within a few steps of Fubar when the soldiers burst out of the forest and instantly an arrow shot in their direction, hitting the man in the leg. He groaned and fell on one knee, a second arrow making its home in his back.

With the glow of the wind rune's sigil seeming to turn the man's brown hair green, a wall of wind burst to life, stopping the soldiers from getting closer and redirecting the arrows. Hugo slipped off Fubar and helped the other to mount the patient griffin, then mounted behind him, holding him but careful of the arrow protruding from the man's shoulder. "Lean against his neck," Hugo instructed, "He'll do the rest."

Panting from exertion, the man nodded and did so, gripping the griffin's neck tight with his good arm. Hugo reached in front of the man and held his palms steady against Fubar's neck, hanging on with his knees. Once they were in the air, Hugo pat Fubar on the right side of his neck to direct the griffin to fly south rather than directly for the village. He didn't want to detour too long, but he hoped the soldiers would follow him and he could give Orman and Doman a little more of an advantage.

The soldiers did follow him, and when the sun hung high in the sky, they turned around and retreated, seeming to give up their quarry. Their arrows couldn't reach Fubar anyway. He pat Fubar on the left side of his neck, letting the griffin know to go east, back home. When they arrived, it was well past dark and Hugo's companion was unconscious.

Landing down, Hugo left the pale man on Fubar's back and let Fubar carry him into the village. Karayans were preparing for battle all over the village, but they were all relieved to see him. _Orman and Doman must've made it home_, he thought, seeing the activity. There were torches lit everywhere to give people the ability to see what they were doing at night.

His presence made it through the village faster than he could and almost immediately he was swept into his mother's arms as she began to scold him. "You stupid boy! You could have been killed!" But then her tone changed to relieved and she said, "Oh, my brave little warrior, I'm so glad you're alive!" She pulled back to search his body for injury, seeing the blood on his face for the first time and gasping.

"It's not mine," he admitted, feeling the pressure as his eyes filled with liquid. _Focus!_ He scolded himself. "He needs help! Right away!" Hugo indicated the man on Fubar's back.

His mother made eye contact with Fubar, bowing to show her respect to him before approaching. She swiftly looked over the man and then called out, "Jimba! Someone get Jimba!"

As soon as his mother's attention was turned, Hugo was able to slip away into the busy village. He ran to his mother's tent and entered the enclosed area that was her bed. Once he was there, he curled on the animal skins that made her bed, and he was unable to keep the situation from hitting him at last.

He had killed a man. _Spirits, I killed him!_ He thought, horrified. Hot, salty tears made tracks on his face and he did his best to keep his sobs from sounding. He was supposed to be a man, so why was this so hard? He had passed his journey to become a man, so didn't that mean he shouldn't cry?

But he had taken a life. His hand closed around the hilts of his weapons and he furiously threw them out of the enclosed bed area, satisfied only slightly when he heard them clatter on the ground. Needing more, he shed the sheaths and threw them away from himself too. He couldn't see his hands in the dark, but he could feel the dry blood on them.

Climbing to his feet, he crossed to his enclosed bed area and shed everything, throwing it away from him. He even took his necklace and clan armband off, and the bangles that signified he'd become a man.

He still felt dirty. Falling to his knees on his animal skins, he clutched at his hair and wept as he held his head.

After crying himself to sleep, he woke still feeling guilt tear at his insides. Finding clean things to wear, he dressed, but left off the bangles and his weapons. He felt he didn't deserve them, so he sheathed the weapons and put them and his bangles on his mother's low table. He saw his armband on the floor and picked it up with a hand still caked in blood before making a decision and leaving that with his other things on the table.

He left the tent, noticing the village was without most of its warriors. He was grateful no one stopped him as he made his way to the woods near the village to bathe in the stream, but he noticed how many people gave him odd looks.

At the secluded stream, he scrubbed himself until he felt like an icicle and put his garments back on, sitting by the stream trying to think what came next. He wasn't a man, but he didn't feel like a boy anymore. His hands still felt like they had blood on them, but no matter how hard he looked at them he could see nothing.

It was here his aunt Luce found him, carrying a wooden bowl of soup and a wood spoon. She set the food down beside him in offering but he didn't take it. He hugged his knees instead and stared intently at the stream as it ran over rocks and pebbles, creating ripples in the surface.

Luce sat down beside him and for a long moment she said nothing. Then in a quiet voice, she said, "The whole village knows."

"Knows what? That I'm a murderer?" Hugo asked bitterly before biting his lip. He felt the tears coming again.

"They know that you risked your life to make sure Orman and Doman made it back safe. That boy you brought, too, is safe because of you." Luce said, turning her eyes on him. He refused to look at her, fearing he would see disappointment at him, or maybe disgust. "Doman told us what happened. I'm not condoning the fact that you took a life, but I am glad you're safe now."

"I _killed_ someone! What if he had a family?" Hugo said, "Who will feed his family now that he's dead because of me? How can I call myself a Karayan if I will so easily take a life? I feel like his spirit is crushing me in vengeance."

Luce reached out and wrapped her arms around Hugo. "Because you feel remorse, you are Karayan. If you felt no pain for taking a life, you would be nothing but a shell. Every one of us knows the feelings you have now, but to protect our people, we bear them well."

Hugo choked on a sob, and her arms tightened around him. He refused to cry. He wouldn't do it. But it hurt so much, thinking of what he had done.

Luce said, "It's okay, Hugo. Men are men because they can cry."

The dam broke. Hugo wrapped his arms around his aunt and sobbed brokenly. "I—didn't—mean—to! H-he—just—kept—coming! W-we f-fell, an' then m-my k-knife was…was…" he couldn't finish but he didn't need to. She held him and whispered soothing words in his ears he would never recall.

When he returned to the village with Luce, he didn't exactly feel better, but the situation didn't weigh on him as much. He entered his mother's tent and carefully set about cleaning his weapons, bangles, and armband free of blood. It was a process that took all day, and he was grateful Lulu hadn't come to see him. He wasn't ready for his best friend, as much as it hurt to admit. He supposed Luce probably said something to keep him away.

After the sun had set, Hugo still hadn't seen his mother so he supposed she must have gone off with the other warriors to initiate a retaliation against the Zexans. Luce came to give him dinner, just as she had done for his midday meal, and stayed to be sure he ate it.

As he ate dinner, Luce mused, "I wonder who that boy is?" Hugo knew the woman was talking about the man he'd brought with. There wouldn't be anyone else she could be talking about, unless Hugo was missing some vital information anyway. "Poor boy, still hasn't woken up yet. Aila healed him with her water rune, but he doesn't wake."

"He used his wind rune a lot," Hugo said as he chewed on a piece of meat. "Jimba said once if you use a rune too much, it can kill you. That's why mother said no one can attach a rune until they pass their journey to be a warrior."

"That may very well be why," Luce agreed.

Hesitantly, Hugo asked, "Do you think… I can go see him? He was the one who got us all free in the first place."

"Of course, but only if you promise to let him sleep. Although right now, it seems silly to go. He's sleeping now, after all."

Hugo blushed, "I know…" he said, but offered no more. He finished his food as Luce chattered lightly on Orman's health. The man's injury had been attended to by Beecham and Aila, and he was resting so he didn't go reopening the recently healed injury.

After dinner, Hugo's armband had finally dried and he put that, his bangles, and his weapons back on, turning to face the door that seemed to loom in front of him as if mocking him to enter the world again. "Well, the boy is resting at Beecham's," Luce told him. "When you're done there, why don't you get some rest, hm?"

Hugo nodded and she bustled off. It took Hugo a long time to get up the nerve to step outside of the tent, but once he did, taking steps was easier. He approached Beecham's tent and entered; the elderly man looked up at him through his thick brows and smiled.

"Hugo, my boy," he greeted him warmly as he stood. "It's good to see you. I have heard of your… momentary lapse… this morning." He said evasively, but Hugo knew what the man spoke of. When a Karayan refused to wear the armband identifying what village he came from, it was almost as if saying he didn't want to be Karayan anymore. As if saying he was turning his back on his people.

Hugo bowed to his elder, "I'm sorry, Beecham… I… wasn't thinking straight." He really hadn't been thinking straight, but Luce had helped him clear his head.

"Well, don't think too hard on it, my boy. You did what needed doing, and you appear in order now. Everything alright?" Beecham asked.

Hugo nodded. "Yes. I'm okay. It won't happen again." Hugo hoped he could keep that promise. "Uh, Beecham?"

"What can I do for you, my boy?" the elder asked.

"I was… hoping to see the man I brought back."

Beecham nodded. "Of course. He's on the guest bed. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go check in on Orman."

As Beecham left Hugo alone in the tent, he looked over at the enclosed area he knew would be the guest bed. The woven tapestries hid the bed from view. Hugo approached and kneeled on the reed mat placed for the purpose of kneeling beside the bed.

For a long moment he remained silent, trying to think of what to say. As usual, he'd come without a plan. Finally deciding on just saying what felt natural, he did just that, in spite of the fact that Luce said the man was sleeping. He didn't attempt to peer into the enclosure, feeling that would be an invasion.

"I'm not sure who you are, or why you were really caught by the ironheads. It was cold down there in that place, and you could've kept your cover, but you let me use it… You got me out, and when the ironhead hit me…" Hugo placed a hand on the bruised lip he sported from the blow he sustained. "Out of nowhere, you came. I don't know why you came back for me, or why you helped me… us… You didn't have to… but you did. I think you could've gotten out without any of us… but you helped us anyway, and I really want to thank you for that. I owe you my life, and I don't know how I'll ever repay you… I guess what I mean to say is… Thank you, for everything you did for us, and if you need something, please ask me."

Having said his peace, Hugo left the tent and made his way back to his mother's. He was surprised to find Lulu seated on the mat beside his bed enclosure tapping his finger on his knee in boredom. Upon seeing Hugo, he scrambled toward him and hugged him around the waist.

Surprised at the sudden affection from his best friend, Hugo felt confusion form on his face. Even still, he wrapped his arms around Lulu's shoulders and said, "You have your mother's strength, Lulu."

The joke broke the tension and Hugo heard Lulu's laugh ring loud in the tent. "Yeah, bear hugs run in the family. I just wanted you to know I'm glad you're okay." Lulu bounced back from Hugo and rubbed his ear. "Aila nearly tore off my ear when she heard you guys got ambushed by the ironheads. I don't know what it is about girls and grabbing my ears!"

Hugo sighed. "I'm not sure either, but I think its just something girls do to all guys. Aila does that to me too. So does mother."

"Yeah, my ma too." Lulu winced. "I s'pose I better go home now. Ma said I have to get up early and do Jimba's morning work while he's gone. Not that I know what he does! He just sits outside all day polishing that ironhead armor. He still won't tell me where he got that either."

"He wakes up around the same time I normally do," Hugo said, "and takes all the water buckets for all the tents that need filling and fills them up at the stream. I know that much." Lulu groaned, extracting a laugh from Hugo. "It's not so bad. You get to use the cart."

Lulu rubbed his arm as if just thinking of all the work he might be doing the next day made him sore. "I'm going to bed," Lulu said. "G'night Hugo."

Hugo nodded and returned the salutation before looking at his own bed.

He lay down and soon found himself plagued by dreams. He saw himself stabbing the soldier again. He thought it strange that the soldier did not wear a metal suit like some of the other ironheads, but the majority of those he'd seen hadn't. They'd worn an orange and brown protective covering.

His sleep was troubled and he woke up many times throughout the night in a cold sweat until finally he simply got up and strapped on his weapons, wandering the village for the remainder of the night and allowing the cool breeze to sooth his mind. Near his usual waking time, he found himself by the small ridge Fubar liked to sleep on near the north side of the village. Laying down against Fubar, he was finally able to sleep dreamlessly.

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**Thank you for reading! Please leave some feedback. It would be greatly appreciated.**


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